Library Wholesaler Baker & Taylor to Cease Operations
US library wholesaler Baker & Taylor has laid off over 500 employees and plans to wind down the business by January 💔 https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/98777-baker-taylor-prepares-plan-to-shut-down.html
— Academic Publishing News (@acadpubnews.bsky.social) October 8, 2025 at 12:09 AM
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Baker & Taylor, a major library book distributor, will shut down operations in January 2026. The news follows a September announcement that the company's planned acquisition by ReaderLink had been canceled. The move has resulted in the layoff of hundreds of workers, with only a fraction of staff to remain employed through the end of the year.
The shutdown has also left many libraries without a book supplier, at least in the short term—although Baker & Taylor had competitors who may be willing to step into the breach, it is unclear how easily or quickly they will be able to absorb the new business. Ingram Content Group and other suppliers both seem likely to benefit from the closing, and Overdrive has reached out to libraries needing help with digital collections. Publishers Weekly also reports that Amazon appears to be interested in increasing its library business.
While the impact of Baker & Taylor's closing may be the greatest for public libraries, they were an important supplier for academic libraries as well. And for academic book publishers, the wholesaler was a critical channel partner for many years. Following their acquisition of suppliers Blackwell North America and Yankee Book Peddler, now YBP Library Services, Baker & Taylor was for a time a (if not the) top customer for many academic book publishers (Note: YBP was acquired by EBSCO in 2015). Market consolidation may be nothing new these days, but for many in the industry, the closing signals the end of an era.